Under the Stars
by Pawprinter
Summary: Bellamy and Clarke have been apart of each other's lives for over a dozen years. First, she was Octavia's friend. Then, she was his classmate. From there, best friend. And now, love of his life. No matter what life threw at them, they knew they would always have each other. Is there anything better to seal the promise of forever than a ring? [Modern Bellarke, proposal fic].


**Hi again!**

 **Here is a modern day, high school sweethearts, watching a celestial event Bellarke fic! I wrote this while I was commuting to city centre today, so excuse any mistakes.**

 **Enjoy!**

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 **Under the Stars**

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Bellamy tightened his hold on Clarke's hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced over at her boyfriend. While she was trying to be discreet, he was openly gawking at her. Clarke's face lit up with a smile, rolling her eyes and shaking her head jokingly.

"We are about to witness a beautiful celestial event, and you're not even watching!" Clarke pointed out. Bellamy's lips twitched into a smile and his fingers drummed against the back of her hand.

He was nervous.

Clarke didn't understand why.

Sure, they were standing in the middle of a meadow. Sure, there were a hundred different ways to die out here. They already seen several shadows in the shapes of bears - which resulted in a muffled scream from Bellamy - and several large bugs. They were also currently surrounded by poison ivy and Clarke could already envision walking into some, knowing her bad luck.

Alright, so maybe she did know why he was nervous. They had grown up in a big city their whole lives and this was way out of their comfort zone.

But it was worth it.

 _God, was it ever worth it._

Clarke brushed some of her blonde hair out of her eyes and peered up into the night sky. They were far away from the city, so the sky was illuminated with thousands of glowing dots. She had never seen the sky so alive – it looked like the stars were dancing.

Flashes of light began to fill the sky, streaking across it. She knew there would be more coming within the next few minutes.

Excitement bubbled up in her stomach.

 _This was her first meteor shower._

God, was she ever a nerd.

Even though she was in medical school at the moment, she still held her science degree. She took physics and astronomy courses, all of which helped educate her on the phenomenon happening before her very eyes.

Clarke turned to her boyfriend. His gaze was locked on hers. She smiled widely and he sent a lopsided smile back.

He understood how special the event was to Clarke. He was the one that happily listened to Clarke talk about this event for the last few months. He was the one that helped plan their vacation from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to the United States. He was the one that took the night shift of driving, while Clarke snored lightly in the passenger's seat.

He knew how important this event was to her. He would do anything to make her happy – coming to see an event that was so special to her was something that she didn't have to do much to convince him to do. When she told him that one of her fondest memories with her mother and father was when they drove to Yellowstone National Park and witnessed a meteor shower, Bellamy knew he would give anything for her to experience that again.

Did he know what was actually going on? Did he understand the science behind the "shooting stars"? Nope. But that didn't matter. He knew that this was going to be beautiful, plus it was an event that the lovely lady on his arm had been looking forward to for months. She was the science person - not him. No. He preferred history and mythology over science.

Bellamy chuckled. He took a biology course in his first year of collage.

He promised himself this.

Never. Again.

A few more flashes filled the sky and he felt Clarke's excitement build.

He reached down to his pocket, his fingertips brushing along the smooth case that was tucked neatly inside. He felt his heart rate pick up.

It was there. There were only a few more minutes left and then it would be time.

He took a deep breath and held it in his lungs, forcing his racing heartbeat to slow down. He could feel his palms staring to sweat.

God, he was so nervous.

He swallowed thickly. He needed to calm down. Clarke was already suspicious of something; he didn't want to alert her to what he was planning.

The time ticked by quickly. More and more shooting stars filled the sky, nearly illuminating their surroundings as much as a street in the city.

All Bellamy could think about was how much he loved the girl that stood beside him. He could watch her for hours, mesmerized by the way her blonde hair hung into her face, how her eyebrows pushed together when she was concentrating, and how she chewed her lip with she was working. Her laugh permanently echoed in his ears - it was one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe to him. Just to see and hear her happy made his heart flutter with joy.

Bellamy grinned.

Who would've thought that he would turn into a sap and fall in love? Him. Of all people.

God, he was glad that he did. He couldn't imagine his life without Clarke.

He would miss all of their moments together.

Bellamy remembered only a few years ago, they were working away on their bachelor degrees together - her, science and for him, a history degree. Then, a few years later, he was working on a project while she was studying medicine. On a few occasions, they took a road trip together - just driving until they felt like that had effectively run away from real life and their responsibilities long enough, then return home. Honestly, he would never forget that one time they flew to Florida. Seeing Clarke whizzing around DisneyWorld, clearly as excited as the children there, had been such a bright moment. When she was only Octavia's annoying friend, he never could've imagined the stuck up princess to let loose at Disney. He never could've imagined letting go of his own reservations, joining her to run around the park, hop on rides and watch shows.

Bellamy remembered the first time they met. Octavia had brought her first friend home from school at the age of nine. The blonde haired princess walked in the door and had an air of importance and self-confidence around her that made his skin crawl. She eyed him critically, scrunched up her nose, and left to play dolls with Octavia. Bellamy remembered being so frustrated by her - so annoyed. Who was she to come into his house and look at him with such distaste? Who was she to come and take his sister - his best friend - away from him? Why did she think she was so important and so much better than him?

It drove Bellamy insane for years. He didn't hate the girl - no, she never did anything truly wrong and she always made Octavia happy. But he didn't like her. He couldn't stand her.

That all changed when they were both in high school together. She was a freshman and he was a senior. Somehow, she managed to skip the previous grade due to her outstanding standardized test scores. Bellamy couldn't stand it - of course she had to do something that everyone thought was near impossible.

Then, everything changed. He didn't know when it happened, but his dislike of her diminished, being slowly replaced by interest. He wasn't in love with her yet - not by a long shot - but he felt himself drawn to her.

He remembered chuckling as she tried to reach a book at the top shelf and the library. Without thinking, he walked over to her, grabbed it and handed it over.

He remembered that one night, he helped her write a paper on one of the gold rushes of North America. The next week, she stayed up late to help him study for his biology exam. He passed with flying colours.

When he graduated, he looked out into the audience. Even though his mother couldn't care to show up and his father didn't know he existed, he was at peace with who was there. Clarke and Octavia - his family.

He took the next year off to work, to save up for Octavia's school. He got a job at the local mechanic's garage. Sure, he was making good money, but he felt lost. He felt like he wanted to be doing more with his life.

It was when Clarke was over for a sleepover with Octavia that winter when he began to feel closer to her. He came home from a late shift, dead tired and hungry. As he was choking down on a microwaveable, she came in for a glass of water. He could still remember the surprise on her face when she came face to face with him in the middle of the night. Instead of heading to bed like he would have predicted, she stayed up and cooked him pasta in her bunny pyjamas.

They ended up staying up together until the sun was rising, just talking. He needed someone to talk to that would be understanding, provide good insight, but still tell the hard truth. Clarke could provide all of that for him. Even though she was younger than him, she was wise beyond her years. It was that night that Clarke urged him to go back to school.

Seven months later, he was headed to university. Clarke was headed back to high school - her final year. Somehow, between all of her classes and her extra curricular activities, she managed to graduate early.

At her graduation, Bellamy cheered the loudest. Her mother looked at him like he was a sewer rat - something she didn't want near her nor her daughter, but she never spoke a word against him. Clarke was accepted to the university he was studying at, and a few months later, she was on her way back to school.

The next few months were strange. While Bellamy always considered Clarke as Octavia's friend, that mindset started shifting. Octavia and Clarke drifted apart - now they were in two different schools and had two different levels of work. While Clarke grew distant to Octavia, she grew closer to Bellamy. It was odd - she was spending the same amount of time at the Blake's house, but she rarely hung out with the younger girl. The two university students studied together, attended university events together, and became closer and closer. Clarke Griffin was no longer Octavia's friend - she was Bellamy's.

They didn't start dating until Clarke's second year of university. It didn't surprise anyone – they were as close as two people could be. That was already several years ago.

Bellamy smiled and pulled his girlfriend closer to his chest.

Without her, he would miss how she changed him for the better and brought joy into his life.

"Oh, Bell, this is so exciting!" she exclaimed, rocking on her heels. He smiled, leaned down, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"It is pretty magical," Bellamy agreed. It was true; the sky looked absolutely stunning. Yet, somehow, he couldn't pay much attention to it. He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest.

His fingers brushed the box in his pocket.

Oh, god, what if she said no?

He didn't have time to contemplate. He knew that he only had seconds before the event would end – he only had seconds until it was time.

Clarke turned to Bellamy, excitement dancing in her eyes. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips parted, and her eyes wide.

Suddenly, his nervousness disappeared. Staring at the love of his life brought peace to his mind, taming his wild thoughts. His heart was filled with love and absolute joy, not fear of the unknown and fear of rejection.

"Clarke..." Bellamy muttered, his lips barely moving. Her eyes met his and a smile pulled on her lips. "Clarke Griffin, I love you."

"Bellamy Blake, I love you," she responded, a cheesy grin on her lips. Bellamy couldn't help but let a similar smile spread across his face.

"I'll love you more than you'll ever know, for the rest of our time existing on this world. I am prepared to love you for the rest of our time _on any world, in any time, no matter what,_ Clarke." He shifted his weight, taking a step closer to her. "You've always been in my life - you were the one to bring love and joy to my house long before you brought it to my heart. Now that I see clearly, I know that it was always you. It always was, Clarke. You have always completed me in ways I've only just begun to understand - you pieced Octavia back together after everything that happened with our parents, just like I was trying to do. You're the mind to my heart. You're the other half to my soul."

"I love you too," Clarke said softly, her lips pulled into a smile. "What is this about, Bell?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to wake up every morning for the rest of my life with you by my side, knowing that no matter how bad things get, you will _always_ be there. I want to have a family with you. I want to be with you until our days run out. I love you, Clarke - with every fiber of my being."

"Oh, Bellamy…"

"Will you marry me, princess?" Bellamy asked. He didn't think his heart could beat any faster than it was at that moment. It felt like the air was trapped in his lungs as he watched her face change from joy, to surprise, to adoration. Clarke didn't need another moment to gather a response.

"Yes." She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, bringing her head to rest at the base of his neck. She melted into his embrace. _This was where she was meant to be. This was who she was meant to spend the rest of her time with._ "A hundred times, yes, Bellamy." She pulled back and pressed a kiss to his lips, tears gathering in her eyes from the sheer joy and peace she felt in her soul. "I would love you, no matter the circumstances. Any time, any place, any life of ours – it would be a life filled with our love." He slipped the ring onto her finger and rested his forehead against hers. They didn't move from their tight embrace – they were content to share this moment as close to the other as possible.

As the golden ring sat on Clarke's finger, she couldn't help but feel that it belonged there. Her life had been filled with pain – just as his – but they had each other.

The ring represented that.

 _They would always have each other._

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